62 The Official Guide to the 
winged Magpies, Cyanopica, are of interest, as — 
showing one of the most remarkable and at present 
unaccountable instances of interrupted geographical 
distribution. Of this genus there are two species, one 
C. cookt, being found only in Spain and Portugal, 
where it is very local, and the other, C. cyanea, in 
Japan and Amoorland. The Jays cannot fail to 
attract attention, and among them especially the ~ 
common Blue Jay of North America, Cyanocorax 
cristatus. An interesting bird too is the so-called 
Australian Chough, Corcorax melanorhynchus, with its | 
white wings. Then follow the gorgeous Birds of 
Paradise, fairly represented in our series.) Uiege 
beautiful birds—in which Nature seems to have run 
riot both as to the lavish display of superb metallic 
colours and eccentricity of plumage not even surpassed 
by the humming birds—are almost entirely confined 
to New Guinea and the adjacent Isles and North 
Australia ; there are something like fifty known species, 
all more or less adorned, and it is difficult to imagine 
that they are closely allied to our familiar crows. 
The lamentable fate which awaits this rare and 
_ strictly localised race of birds, may be imagined from 
ea 
the fact that szxty thousand dozen of their plumes, 
mixed with those of the Egret, were disposed of by a 
single warehouse in the season of 1895. But too 
surely this, one of the most lovely of all the families 
of birds which beautify the earth, will speedily be 
exterminated to gratify female vanity, and the world 
will be bereft of one joy more by the loss of this thing 
of beauty. 
These are followed by the Rifleman Binds of Aus- 
tralia, so-called from the dark green hues of their 
plumage somewhat resembling the uniform worn by 
those regiments ; but it will be seen that their resplendent 
hues far surpass the sombre tints of their namesakes ; 
